Turkey extends Russian gas purchase contracts for a year
4 December 11:17
Turkey has extended by one year the contracts for Russian gas expiring at the end of 2025, totaling 22 billion cubic meters, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
Ankara, which remains the last major importer of Russian gas in Europe, has simultaneously signed a number of long-term LNG supply agreements, counting on the oversupply expected on the global market in the coming years. Most of the new supplies will come from the United States.
State-owned BOTAS has signed a contract extension with Russia, Alparslan Bayraktar said.
“Supplies from Gazprom will continue next year, but we are focused on a shorter term – about one year,” Bayraktar added.
Turkey is also negotiating an agreement to import 10 billion cubic meters of gas from Iran, which expires in July 2026, the energy minister said, adding that, among other things, an increase in the volume of Turkmen gas coming through Iran is being discussed.
Bayraktar said Turkey plans to invest in gas production in the United States to fulfill its commitment to purchase up to 1,500 LNG shipments from the United States over 15 years.
“To hedge our position and create a complete value chain, we are considering investing in the higher segments of the production chain in the US market,” Bayraktar said.
The state-owned TPAO is in talks with US energy giants, including Chevron and Exxon, and a deal could be concluded as early as January.
The EU has agreed on a plan to abandon gas from Russia by 2027
The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have reached a preliminary agreement on a regulation to phase out Russian natural gas imports by 2027 under the REPowerEU plan.
“This is a great victory for us and for the whole of Europe. We have to end the EU’s dependence on Russian gas, and its permanent ban in the EU is an important step in the right direction,” said Lars Ogard, Minister of Climate, Energy and Utilities of Denmark, the country’s President of the Council of the European Union.
According to the plan, a transition period will be maintained for existing contracts. For example, for short-term contracts concluded before June 17, 2025, the import ban will come into force on April 25, 2026 for liquefied natural gas (LNG) and on June 17, 2026 for pipeline gas.
For long-term LNG supply contracts, the ban will take effect from January 1, 2027 in accordance with the 19th EU sanctions package. Long-term contracts for pipeline gas supply will be gradually terminated starting from September 30, 2027, subject to reaching the target gas reserves levels, but no later than November 1, 2027.
